Sometimes referred to as Medical Professional Liability Insurance, this type of insurance is a necessity for health care professionals. Even experienced professionals can make mistakes and must protect themselves against that risk. Lawsuits can also happen to professionals who have made no mistakes. Even when the defendant triumphs, fighting a malpractice lawsuit is often costly and time consuming. Expenses include expert witness fees, legal fees, and more, and, if the case is lost or settled, you must pay the settlement fee. Although health care professionals do win the majority of these lawsuits, the legal system seldom recuperates the costs incurred by the winner. A medical malpractice lawsuit defeat can be shattering and defense rates are high, which is why this type of insurance is crucial for every practice.

Medical malpractice insurance insures against claims of medical negligence. Most policies also cover your conduct as a member of a peer review panel. This feature protects against lawsuits claiming that an adverse peer review decision made by the insured was inappropriate and caused a loss of income.

Coverage should be secured for your employees, your entity (Partnership, Corporation, LLC, etc.) and yourself. Your employees should be covered under your medical malpractice policy or you can require them to have their own coverage to make sure their assets are secured. A corporation or entity needs to be protected as they can sometimes be taken in malpractice lawsuits because employers are usually held legally responsible for the acts of employees. You, yourself, need a policy because you are providing the health care services. Employee coverage is frequently available for staff and nurses under physician policies, and limits are shared with the employer at no additional cost. Certified Nurse Anesthetists, Physician Assistants, Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners necessitate individual coverage at added costs. Make sure any malpractice insurance policy details the extent of your employees' coverage. Health care professionals are commonly offered entity coverage sharing policy limits, at no extra cost, to solo practices. When there are multiple professionals in a group, the premium fee is typically around 10% of what all the insureds in the practice are paying and coverage for the entity is normally given its own policy caps.

Insurance is sold in three ways; directly by an insurance company, by an agent who represents a specific company or by an independent broker that markets the products of a number of different companies. When insurance is purchased through an agent or broker, the policy premium contains a commission to the seller. Buying insurance through an independent broker that markets the products of a number of different companies is the best choice. This guarantees that you are getting more than one view of the available insurance products. Premiums remain the same for the product whether an insurance company sells directly though agents or through brokers.

Every policy lists behavior that is not protected by medical malpractice insurance. Sexual indecencies, illegal conduct, records tampering, lab or hospital administration, and falsified items on the insurance application are examples of policy exclusions. Giving detailed answers, when completing your application for insurance, is very important. The insurance company needs as much information as possible to support your health care practice. The application information is hardly ever verified by insurers because falsifications can cancel the policy.

An Occurrence policy protects you from any covered incident that "occurs" during the policy period, regardless of when a claim is filed. An occurrence policy will respond to claims that come in – even after the policy has been canceled – so long as the incident occurred during the period in which coverage was in force. A type of coverage trigger that obligates an insurer to defend and/or pay a claim on an insured's behalf, if the claim is first made against the insured during the period in which the policy is in force. (The term "made" means notification to an insured that a demand for money or services is being requested.)

The claims-made policy costs at least 35% less when you compare the cost of buying a claims-made policy and the unlimited tail against having occurrence coverage for the same period. The savings increase if you qualify for a free death, disability or retirement tail.

Several insurance products are available. The best ones for Health Care Professionals are: • Property & General Liability • Medical Malpractice Insurance • Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse • Workers Compensation

Choosing an insurer that has the monetary acumen to survive long term is crucial. Use rating services, such as A.M. Best and Company, to find your prospective insurance company's financial rating. Do not choose a company with anything less than an "A-"rating. Also ask how long the insurer has been operating in your state. Compare premium costs to those of their competitors. "New practitioner" discounts are sometimes available to those entering private practice for the first time. Companies may also offer discounts to health care professionals who have been claim free for many years, work part-time, or have taken risk management courses. Discounts vary from insurer to insurer, but inquire about these reductions if you believe you qualify. This page mainly serves as an overview of the coverages these types of insurance policies provide. However, there are many variations. It is essential to know and understand your specific policy terms. If you have any questions, make sure the company, agent or broker takes the time to explain everything to your contentment.

Allegations of medical negligence are covered by medical malpractice insurance. Behavior as a member of a peer review panel is also often protected under these insurance policies, which safeguards against lawsuits arguing that a bad peer review decision made by you was incorrect and triggered a loss of income. A number of policies provide a stipend to you if an attorney needs to defend licensing or peer review actions.

The individual limit is the highest amount that will be paid for any one claim, and the aggregate limit is the most that will be paid in any policy year for all claims. These numbers are specified in the policy you choose. The limits commonly taken across the United States are $1,000,000/$3,000,000, meaning the insurance policy will provide a maximum of $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 for all claims during the duration of the policy. Speak to your insurer, agent, or broker about the limits you need.

Claims made and occurrence policies are the principal forms of malpractice insurance offered by insurance companies. Occurrence coverage is not available in all states, but is the best form of coverage. Occurrence policies are complete when acquired and continue to deliver coverage for future claims, even after cancellation, based on the behavior during the policy term. The same limits that were specified throughout the term of the policy are accessible to pay a claim. However, the insurance company may decide to raise or reduce premiums over time. Claims made coverage is secured as long as you pay premiums for the original policy and continue to pay for any later renewals. For example, you were insured by a claims made policy for 10 years and stopped paying premiums the coverage would not include any cases after the payment ended. An Extended Reporting Endorsement, or tail as it's often referred to, allows health care professionals to guarantee claims made coverage forever. Tail premiums are generally expensive, but they allow you to keep reporting claims even after the policy is cancelled. Conversely, it is possible to move between claims made insurers without having to purchase a tail. Oftentimes when health care professionals change insurance companies the new insurer takes over the former insurance company's duties by writing its policy retroactively over the prior insurer. The policy's overwrite picks a retroactive date, from the previous insurer's agreement, to start coverage and bases their premium rates on the number of preceding years of coverage desired. Premiums for claims made policies increase yearly for five years. The final year's premium is called the "mature premium." A new insurer's premium generally does not surpass its mature premium for retroactive coverage. If the insured is completely disabled, retires from practice after five years with that insurer at 55 or older, or dies most medical malpractice insurance companies provide a free tail. All health care professionals need to buy a tail after they stop working to keep eternal coverage if the aforementioned feature is not included in the policy. A good number of medical malpractice insurers are local and do not want to assume retroactive coverage out of their regional area, so it may be hard to move from one claims made insurer to another if you are moving to a new state.